Pi for Echolink on an RLC-3 Controller - Part 3 - Wiring the SignaLink

Welcome back to my build of a Raspberry Pi Echolink device to connect to an RLC-3 repeater controller.  You can find part 1 and part 2 here.

Wiring the SignalLink USB

In this part I am working on the cabling.  The RLC-3 controller takes a serial type connector also known as a DB9 RS232 cable.  On the other side, the SignaLink likes a RJ45 connector.

The RLC-3 will need a specific pin connection.  According to this FAQ, here's the pin connection I need to make.

 1 = GND (OPLT on RLC2 Main Port, instead of GND)  
 6,8,9 = GND
 2 = PL Input
 3 = PTT
 4 = Audio Out (To Transmitter)
 5 = Audio In (From Receiver)
 7 = COR Input

Now I need to see how the pins map to the RJ45 connector. I physically went in and mapped each pin to each connection, I confirmed the mapping after with this chart from Juniper.

Inside the SignaLink USB you can map each pin to it's respective connection to handle the audio.  Here's how I connected it.

RLC     RJ45
GND --- Pin 8
GND
GND
---
---
PTT --- Pin 6
MIC --- Pin 7
SPK --- Pin 4

I've added a few ferrites to all the cables since this is a HIGH RF environment.  In addition 5 club repeaters in that space, there is public service radio and broadcasters that we share the top of the building with.   We may need to do one additional connection inside the box to enable COR but that one is outside my current knowledge base.   

My next step is to turn the wired device over to the main repeater guys and let them do the final configuration of the SVXlink and RLC-3 in the next few days.  I hope they will share their configuration.  If they do, I will document via this blog.

73 de Jim N4BFR

Pi for Echolink on an RLC-3 Controller - Part 2 - SVXLink Install

My ham radio club would like to to add Echolink functionality to our repeaters.  In part 1 I did a basic Raspberry Pi setup.  In this version I will attempt to install the Echolink software.

Installing SVXLink

I have read several versions of instructions to trade off complexity vs functionality.

• The Svxlink site has a really complicated version if you are one of those people who likes to compile yourself and make a bunch of optimizations to your Pi.   I started down this path, but I felt it was terrifically more complex than I needed.
• The next version I tried, and made significant progress on was this one by KN4ADN.  It has some localization that people might find helpful.   
• The one I ended up using is the version from the Svxlink site that installs a binary.  Finish the testing and you should hear something like this.

Success on getting the audio to play through a soundcard.  Now I will need to make a change to get it to use the Signalink for Audio Output.   Luckily, that's an easy change.  Editing in the same config file you did before:

 sudo nano /etc/svxlink/svxlink.conf  

Go to the [TX1] section and change the configuration for AUDIO_DEV to this:

 [Tx1]  
 TYPE=Local
 AUDIO_DEV=alsa:plughw:1
 AUDIO_CHANNEL=0

Exit out, connect your speaker to the MON port on the SignaLink.   Now start SVXlink again and run the *# command.  You should hear the relay click on the SignaLink and the audio clip play.

It's a good time to make a backup of your SD card again, because the next step will be to do deeper configuration of the software and wire the Signalink for the RLC-3.

Next Step: Wiring the SignaLink USB

Pi for Echolink on an RLC-3 Controller - Part 1 - Pi Config

My ham radio club has wanted to enhance our repeater system and add Echolink functionality.   We had IRLP a few years ago but it had fallen out of favor and the gear was removed.   The skill will be to connect it to our repeater system via the RLC-3 controller.   I have not been able to find something specific online, so I am documenting here.

Part 1 - Get the Raspberry Pi basics going

For this project I am using a Raspberry Pi Model 3 B.  This is the latest version as of this writing and allows me the full size USB and Ethernet ports I want to use.

Get a version of the Raspberry Pi software onto a Micro-SD card.

1. I am using the latest version of Rasbian (currently Stretch).  Downloaded the image from RaspberryPi.org and burned it using SD Card Formatter and Win32Disk Imager.   
2. I like to run the Pi "headless" (without a monitor or keyboard) Before ejecting the card add a blank file named

   ssh

   to the boot drive to enable access via command line over the LAN.    If you want to use WiFi there are instructions for that online as well.

Directly connected to my LAN and found the IP address in my router.

1. Login with the pi/raspberry password combination and change the password
2. Run

    sudo raspi-config  
   
   

   and update the following:
1. Network Options - > Hostname
2. Localization Options -> Change Locale
3. Advanced Options -> Expand Filesystem
3. When complete finish and reboot.

Logging back in

1. you should see your new host name next to your login like
   

   pi@ECHOLINK:~$

2. I like to remove Wolfram Alpha from the standard distribution.  This is an optional step but this feature takes up a lot of storage (680+ MB) we won't use.  If you are using a big SD card, you can probably skip this step.  to remove:
   

    sudo apt-get purge wolfram-engine

3. Now, make sure you have all your updates:
   

    sudo apt-get update  
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade   

   (I did the removal first so I don't have to wait through a lengthy update process for that big file library

Shutdown your Raspberry Pi and make a backup of this disk image:

 sudo shutdown -h -P now  


This allows me a clean place to go back to if I screw up the rest of it.

Next step, installing the Echolink software. 

Why A Blog

Who starts a blog in 2018?   Well, I thought this might be a good way to document some things I have done or found along the way.  Stay tuned.